Looking for the best and inspirational Ruby Bridges quotes?
Ruby Bridges is one of the most famous civil rights heroes that stood up for equality. She was first in line to enter a newly desegregated school in New Orleans.
As she walked through the halls, jeers and slurs were hurled at her from all directions. The anger and hatred she faced as an innocent six-year-old is something that no child should ever have to experience. But Ruby did not let this stop her from achieving her goal of becoming a teacher, which she did, while also being the first African American woman to do so in the South.
The book “The Little Girl Who Fought The Civil War” tells the story of how on November 14th, 1960, because of her skin color, she became the first black child to attend an all-white school in Louisiana.
Check out the following quotes to give you a glimpse at what made her such an iconic and inspirational person.
25 Ruby Bridges Quotes That Will Motivate You
1. “You cannot look at a person and tell whether they’re good or bad.” ― Ruby Bridges
2. “Evil isn’t prejudiced. It doesn’t care what you look like; it just wants a place to rest. It’s up to you whether you give it that place.” ― Ruby Bridges
3. “My mother had taught me that the only thing you could depend on was your faith, and I had that.” ― Ruby Bridges
4. “Don’t follow the path. Go where there is no path and begin the trail. When you start a new trail equipped with courage, strength and conviction, the only thing that can stop you is you.” ― Ruby Bridges
5. “We have tolerance, respect, and equality in our written laws but not in the hearts of some of our people.” ― Ruby Bridges
6. “I believe it doesn’t do yourself any good to hate.” ― Ruby Bridges
7. “That’s really what my work is all about – bringing kids together.” ― Ruby Bridges
8. “I was the first black child to desegregate the all-white William Frantz Elementary School in Louisiana in 1960.” ― Ruby Bridges
9. “We may not all be equally guilty. But we are all equally responsible for building a decent and just society.” ― Ruby Bridges
10. “Evil looks like you and I. I know what evil looks like, and I know that it comes in all shades and colors.” ― Ruby Bridges
11. “A lot of my strength came from my upbringing.” ― Ruby Bridges
12. “Now that I’m a parent, I know that my parents were incredibly brave.” ― Ruby Bridges
13. “My mother and our pastor always said you have to pray for your enemies and people who do you wrong, and that’s what I did.” ― Ruby Bridges
14. “If you really think about it, if we begin to teach history exactly the way that it happened – good, bad, ugly, no matter what – I believe that we’re going to find that we are closer, more connected than we are apart.” ― Ruby Bridges
15. “I believe that we have to come together, and we have to rely on the goodness of each other.” ― Ruby Bridges
16. “I do think that some people are born as old souls.” ― Ruby Bridges
17. “Don’t follow the path. Go where there is no path and start a trail.” ― Ruby Bridges
18. “I remember the first time seeing myself on TV when my family was watching the documentary ‘Eyes on the Prize’ for the first time. There were pictures of people going up the school stairs, and Mom said, ‘Oh, that’s you!’ I said, ‘I can’t believe this. This is important’.” ― Ruby Bridges
19. “I wanted to use my experience to teach kids that racism has no place in hearts and minds.” ― Ruby Bridges
20. “We must absolutely take care of one another.” ― Ruby Bridges
21. “That’s really what my work is all about – bringing kids together.” ― Ruby Bridges
22. “I want to inspire kids.” ― Ruby Bridges
23. “I believe in my prayers.” ― Ruby Bridges
24. “Each and every one of us is born with a clean heart. Our babies know nothing about hate or racism. But soon they begin to learn – and only from us. We keep racism alive. We pass it on to our children. We owe it to our children to help them keep their clean start.” ― Ruby Bridges
25. “Racism is a grown-up disease, and we should stop using our kids to spread it.” ― Ruby Bridges
